1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of computer graphics and, more particularly, to a system and method for generating a set of trimmed pixels representing a surface primitives (e.g., a triangle or a quadrilateral).
2. Description of the Related Art
Graphics system may be configured to receive surface primitives (representing graphical objects in a three-dimensional space) such as triangles, perform shading operations to determine color values at the vertices of the primitives, and interpolate color values for pixels covering the primitives from the color values at the vertices. To achieve more visual realism it would be desirable perform programmable shading operations such as bump mapping, displacement mapping and lighting at pixel resolution. However, conventional methodologies for rasterizing primitives into pixels do not support (or do not provide adequate support) for such operations at pixel resolution. Thus, there exists a need for systems and methodologies capable of rasterizing primitives in a manner suited for interfacing with per-pixel programmable shaders.